Widnau
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Widnau is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of
St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...
in Switzerland.


History

In 1883 the municipality was created when it separated from
Diepoldsau Diepoldsau is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Diepoldsau is first mentioned in 891 as ''Thiotpoldesouua''. Schmitter is first mentioned in 1385. It was the crossi ...
.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 23 September 2009


Geography

Widnau has an area, , of . Of this area, 34.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 59.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). It is on the Austrian border and has a border crossing via the Wiesenrainbrücke, a bridge over the Rhine. This road bridge also carries a track of the
International Rhine Regulation Railway The International Rhine Regulation Railway (german: Internationale Rheinregulierungsbahn) was an industrial railway situated on both banks of the Alpine Rhine river to the south of its outfall into Lake Constance. Large parts of the line have been ...
, a now preserved rail line formerly used in the management of the Rhine.


Coat of arms

The
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
of the municipal
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Or a bar wavy Azure base seme of Tufts Vert and overall a Willow pollarded of the last eradicated and trunked Gules.''


Demographics

Widnau has a population (as of ) of . , about 25.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 153 are from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, 205 are from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, 685 are from ex-
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, 246 are from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, 165 are from
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, and 322 are from another country.Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009
accessed 30 December 2009
Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 12.9%. Most of the population () speaks German (88.0%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.8%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.7%).
accessed 4 January 2010
Of the Swiss national languages (), 6,574 speak
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, 22 people speak French, 117 people speak
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
, and 8 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Widnau is; 1,041 children or 13.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 990 teenagers or 13.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 942 people or 12.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,336 people or 17.9% are between 30 and 39, 1,031 people or 13.8% are between 40 and 49, and 905 people or 12.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 604 people or 8.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 424 people or 5.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 179 people or 2.4% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 18 people or 0.2% who are between 90 and 99.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009
there were 809 persons (or 10.8% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,637 (or 21.9%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 4,299 (or 57.6%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 461 (or 6.2%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 55 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 40 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 58 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 111 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. In the
2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
the most popular party was the SVP which received 42.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (24.9%), the FDP (11.5%) and the SP (9.9%). In Widnau about 70.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule''). Out of the total population in Widnau, , the highest education level completed by 1,528 people (20.5% of the population) was Primary, while 2,736 (36.6%) have completed their secondary education, 786 (10.5%) have attended a
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
school, and 314 (4.2%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.


Economy

, Widnau had an unemployment rate of 2.44%. , there were 19 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 1,135 people are employed in the
secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there are 111 businesses in this sector. 1,553 people are employed in the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, with 272 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 4.1%. There were 413 businesses in the municipality of which 114 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 296 were involved in the third. there were 1,313 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,590 residents worked outside Widnau and 1,731 people commuted into the municipality for work.St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters
accessed 31 December 2009


Religion

From the , 4,773 or 63.9% were
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, while 1,181 or 15.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith, there were 175 individuals (or about 2.34% of the population) who belonged to the Orthodox Church, and there were 61 individuals (or about 0.82% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who were
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 619 (or about 8.29% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 32 individuals (or about 0.43% of the population) who belonged to another church (not listed on the census), and 340 (or about 4.55% of the population) belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist. The remaining 284 individuals (or about 3.80% of the population) did not answer the question.


Weather

Widnau has an average of 137.8 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The wettest month is July during which time Widnau receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.3 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.2, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is March with an average of of precipitation over 13.3 days., the weather station elevation is 411 meters above sea level.


References


External links


Widnau Online
Official website {{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen